''^The huntsman knows Mir by a thousand marks. 

 Black and embossed; nor are his hounds deceived; 

 Too well distinguish these, and never leave 

 Their once-devoted foe; familiar grows 

 His scent and strong their appetite to overtake." 



Somervile. 



XVII 



THE CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER IN 



DEVONSHIRE 



THE DEVON AND SOMERSET STAGHOUNDS LORNA DOONE^S COUN- 

 TRY THE QUANTOCK HILLS THE MEET ANTHONY HUX- 



TABLE THE TUFTERS THE CHASE — TAKING THE DEER^ 



A LONG RIDE HOME. 



V17HILE in England in the winter of 1898, I received a 

 ^* letter from Mr. Alfred Skinner of Bishop's Lydard, 

 Devonshire, inviting me to visit him and have a day with the 

 Devon and Somerset staghounds, then hunting three days a 

 week in the Quantock Hills, near Mr. Skinner's farm. 



As tliis was not my first visit to the famous Devonshire 

 country nor my first day with the Devon and Somerset stag- 

 hounds, I knew something of what was in store for me: I was 

 not long in deciding to test once more the hospitality of "Pond 

 Farm," which, you must know, is of the genuine Devonshire 

 sort, with Devonshire cream and Devonshire cider, to say noth- 

 ing of the gooseberry tarts, etc. Added to this was my very 

 vivid recollection of one of the grandest day's sport I had 

 ever experienced with hounds; this was in '93. How many, 

 many times had I lived over that memorable run! I had but 



